Prequel: Not Easily Forgiving
by Son Ange
Summary: CHAPTER 6 IS UP. READ! Christine returns with Raoul, right? But what happens later? She isolates herself from him, and then runs away.. Much better than it sounds. RC in the beginning, EC towards the end. No RC romance.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: SORRY THIS TOOK A WHILE; MY DAD KEPT STEALING MY INTERNET FROM ME; and I just stole it back for 15 min (he's not home)..._

_ANYWHO: Hey! This is only my second attempt at a phic, so don't yell at me. :) This chapter and the next may be a little run-on and slow, but the ones after will be much better, at least I think..._

_This is a prequel to another story that my friend and co-author Haley and I role-played, so it'll only have a few chapters, and then I'll revise and put up our main story._

_Besides the fact that this story is a prequel, the title has nothing to do with this part of the story…just thought you might want to know..._

_Hope ya like! …you better… takes out the dreaded Punjab_

_Based on the movie, but I am using Erik's name, though they didn't say it in the movie. ;)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, but I am holding Mr. Lloyd Webber hostage in my bathroom. It's just a matter of time… grins evilly_

**Chapter 1: What Happened**

"Christine?" Raoul stood by Christine's door, knocking softly. He held a tray of food in his hands. He sighed, "Christine, you have to eat something." As usual, she wasn't answering him. Figuring he'd wait a little longer in case she decided to open the door, though he highly doubted it, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking back over the events of the past week and a half.

_.:flashback:._

Raoul went limp against his bindings as he watched Christine kiss that repulsive creature. He didn't know how she could even approach him, let alone start some heavy mouth-to-mouth action.

He froze when he saw Erik move towards him, eyes widening. He struggled when Erik reached for the ropes around his neck, but stopped after seeing Erik's face. It wasn't angry, it was unreadable.

Raoul then realized that he was free and collapsed to the ground. Scrambling back up, he quickly moved towards Christine and grabbed her arm and tried to pull her to the boat. He was surprised when she resisted, and tugged harder, finally succeeding in getting her into the gondola.

He was overwhelmed by everything that had happened; almost drowning (and dying), almost getting hanged (and dying), and almost losing Christine (he would have died after that, too), but he felt extremely happy. He had gotten what he had wanted, Christine. But more importantly, he had won against the infamous Phantom of the Opera.

Then Raoul realized that Christine kept glancing over her shoulder, a sad look on her face. That hurt him, and he tried to convince himself that she just felt pity for that demon.

He was surprised when she looked at him and told him to stop the boat. He stopped, not knowing what she intended to do. When she climbed out of the boat, he grabbed her arm and protested, but she glared at him and wrenched her limb out of his grasp, wading back towards the darkness. Helpless, Raoul stared after her, a knowledge, or perhaps a hope, deep within him that told him she'd come back.

Watching her, Raoul saw her go up to the fiend and press something into his hand. For a fleeting moment, Raoul thought she'd kiss _it_ again, but she just turned around, reluctantly letting go of his hand, tears in her eyes.

It was then that he saw the blue sparkle in the dim light. _Their ring_. 'How could she!' he thought frantically, slumping into the boat. 'How could she give that..that _thing_ their engagement ring!' It was, really, the one object that bound Raoul to Christine, because somehow he knew, deep inside, that her love lied with someone else; he just refused to see it.

When Christine climbed back into the gondola, Raoul stood immediately, and did the one thing that came to his mind; sing. He sang the song he and Christine had sung to each other on the rooftop, hoping to remind her that they were fiancés; that she had told him that she loved him.

He smiled when Christine joined his singing, but it faded when he noticed she wasn't focused on the song, or him. The look in her eyes made him think that she was imagining singing to someone else…

The boat hit dry land, if that's what you could call it, and Raoul helped Christine out of it. They walked out into the dark street, a gentle light coming from behind them, where part of the Opera House was still ablaze.

He went to get his carriage, looking back at Christine, who was standing off to the side, waiting. He sighed, and went off, returning a few moments later.

She climbed into the carriage as soon as it stopped, and Raoul sighed in frustration, leaning back into the seat. He looked at Christine throughout the ride home, though she didn't see. She was staring out the window, shoulders slumped and eyes blank.

Raoul tried to convince himself that she was just suffering from the initial shock of what had happened in a mere 45 minutes, but that little feeling he had that she loved someone else kept nagging at him. Frustrated, he shook his head and erased all thoughts from his mind.

As the de Chagny mansion loomed into sight, Christine appeared to snap out of her daze, and sat up straighter as the carriage slowed. Raoul stepped out of the carriage and offered his hand to Christine, to aid her out of it. Christine climbed out on her own, deliberately refusing to allow him to help her. She trudged up the steps and through the front door, which had been opened by Herald, Raoul's butler.

Raoul stood next to the butler, watching Christine go up the stairs. His hopes lifted; she might feel better after some sleep. This hope was completely shattered when he, too, went upstairs to comfort Christine, only to find that she had locked herself in the guest room.

It troubled him that she wouldn't open the door to anyone, save Marie, one of Raoul's maids, and her Siamese cat, Ayesha, and wouldn't come out of the room. That was, except for once. The next morning, she had snuck out of her room at an early hour, and crept into Raoul's room, where all of her things that weren't at the opera house were kept. She had packed all of her belongings into a bag (resembling a large duffel bag) and brought it back to the room she had stayed in the previous night, dubbing it as her own.

A few days later, Christine had talked shortly with Marie, to explain that she wanted to have nothing to do with Raoul, and to keep to herself. She left it at that, not speaking to anybody, particularly Raoul.

She didn't come out of her room at all after that, and the servants had to coax her into opening the door enough to take a tray of food in. When she refused time after time, not wanting a run-in with Raoul, he had ordered a small table set up outside of her door where the servants were to leave the trays of food at regular intervals during the day, so that Christine would be able to eat when she felt like it.

_.:end flashback:._

And that's how it had been since then. Raoul didn't know what to do; Christine was suffering from depression, most likely, though he tried not to think of the options that caused this depression. Often times, when Raoul passed by her room to make sure she was doing okay, he heard her humming and softly singing from _Don Juan_ and such, remembering…

Raoul opened his eyes and straightened. It hurt for him to remember these things, and thinking about Christine _wanting_ to remember only hurt him more.

He set the tray down on the table and knocked on the door again, this time not as softly, frustration clearly noticeable.

"Christine, your food is on the table. I'll send someone up in fifteen minutes to clean it up if you decide not to eat." Raoul trailed his fingers along the door and sighed, then slowly descended the stairs.

"Jean, I left a tray upstairs, check on Christine in fifteen minutes," he said to the servant, and walked out the door, heading to the large garden behind his home. He needed some time alone. He had to think things over; what had driven Christine to such depths over such a monster!

_A/N: Okay, first chapter is DONE! I hope ya liked. Took me a while to type it (I had it handwritten, but I have limited computer access, EX: I am posting from my sister's computer; my dad took away my internet, but my mom won't believe me when I say I don't have it, so she thinks I'm on AIM all the time, but really, I'm typing the story, so …yeah..) uhm, I was saying…_

_Oh yeah, it took me a while to type it and post it, but it's here. :)_

_Okiedokie, NOTE: My daddy is being unfair, so the next chapter may be up soon after this one (same day?), 'cause I won't have internet for short periods of time... sorry!_

_Review, or else… :pulls out Erik's trusty Punjab: …:innocent smile:_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Sort of boring, really sorry! Bear with me… please? Most of this is just reflections, again, but from Christine's point of view._

_Disclaimer: Own nothing but the plot… _

_But I got Mr. Lloyd Webber :hears pounding from inside bathroom: to play me some Phantom music! IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME evil snicker … _

Chapter 2: Christine

Christine sat on the pouf, staring at her full-length wall mirror, absent-mindedly petting Ayesha. She was devastated. She hadn't talked to anyone except Marie and Ayesha in a long while, and she wasn't about to change that. What, or rather who, she really missed was Erik, and wished she hadn't left him that night.

She couldn't believe that Erik had misunderstood her kiss as an attempt to save Raoul. She had kissed him to show him she loved him, she _chose_ him, but he hadn't seen that. Her heart broke when he sent her and Raoul away.

Christine had tried to go back to him, to explain, but Raoul had pulled her back. "Stupid, Christine, stupid. You know you have more strength, you could have fought harder!" she thought to herself and buried her head in her hands.

Raoul had pushed her into the boat, and tears had welled up in her eyes. She hadn't believed this; everything was turning out all wrong. She had looked back at Erik sadly as the boat started moving. She hadn't noticed Raoul looking at her.

After a few moments, she hadn't been able to take it anymore; she ordered Raoul to stop the boat, an intensity in her voice that she had never known she had, and climbed out of the boat, wading through the water back to Erik. Walking up to him, she thought of staying, and telling him of her love, but that would trigger Raoul to get the police, or fight at Erik, which would leave someone dead in the end. Instead, Christine had given Erik the one thing that she wished belonged to the two of them, not to her and Raoul. Squeezing Erik's hands lightly, she felt her tears now freely flowing down her face. Her lips formed the three silent words, "I love you.", but it was barely visible, and she couldn't tell if Erik noticed or not.

She had reluctantly let go of his hand and turned around, eyes moist and filled with sadness. She walked back to the boat and climbed in. Raoul had taken her wrist in a death grip and started singing the song they had shared that night on the roof.

Christine had joined in hesitantly, but only because she knew Raoul might hurt her if she didn't. For all she knew, he could break her wrist and act like it was an accident, or pretend not to notice, so she sang. She took the chance and looked back at Erik while singing, but only for a few moments, enough to let him know that she was singing to him _thanks, Emily!_.

As soon as they were out of the building, Christine had painfully wrenched her hand out of Raoul's grasp and moved off to the side, indicating that she would wait there while Raoul went to get his carriage.

She had then busied herself with inspecting the opera house. The fire was being put out, and it saddened her to see that it was falling apart, charred and burned. It was then that she thought about Erik. It would kill him to see his opera house like this, even if he caused it...

When Raoul came with the carriage _heh, that sounds really wrong_, she climbed in, refusing his help. She had sat in silence all the way to Raoul's house, thinking of Erik. When they reached the house, she had once more refused Raoul's aid and got out of the carriage on her own, slowly walking into the house. She had found a spare bedroom and locked herself in, for privacy and quietness. She had wanted absolutely no contact with Raoul whatsoever, but she knew he would confront her at some point.

While Christine was thinking, Raoul had finished his walk and was now in front of her room. He started pounding on the door, and threatening to break it down if she didn't open it _now_.

'I guess that time is now…' Christine thought to herself, sighing. She got up and walked towards the door.

_a/n: Alrighty, that was annoying; I had it all written out, but it took me one and a half days to type it…tee hee, don't be mad! I am in the process of writing the third chapter; it's already 2 pages (4 sides) so yeah…should be up in a few days._

_Thanks to **Countess Alana**, **anonymous **giggle, **Clayphan16**,** Emily**, and **Haley **(i-heart-elphie) for reviewing! You guys made my day!_

_Sandra: I will be doing my author's notes in this form from now on…  
Amanda: THANKS TO ME!  
Sandra: Thanks, Amanda… uhm okay lol  
Erik: What about me!  
Sandra:licks lips: Oh don't worry, I'd _never_ forget about you…  
Mr. Lloyd Webber:almost knocks bathroom door down: Share your love with meeee!  
Sandra: EW GROSS !  
Amanda: EW GROSS !  
Erik: And guess what, _you_ made me so hot that they can't resist me, so it's your fault..  
Sandra: Ya know…he has a point…  
Amanda: hmm…_

'_Til next time! Lahve y'all soo much keep reviewing…_

_Erik: Or else… :takes out Punjab:  
Sandra: HEY THAT'S MY LINE!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Need I say it? Sir Lloyd Webber is still in my bathroom...I won't let him out until he grants me permission to secretly steal Phantom from him..._  
_**

_Sandra: Well, I'm back…This took longer than I thought. But I had to make it perfect, or as perfect as I wanted it… and then I hadda type it…  
Erik: That's not that hard!  
Amanda: I agree.  
Sandra: I don't :points at Erik: If you make any more smartass comments against me, no more s'mores!  
Erik:whimpers: Sorry…  
Sandra: It's okay :hands Erik a s'more:_

_**Review replies:  
Emily singing reflection-** It's not really a play, and I don't like that romantic crap messing up my story, lol, it needs to be …more real-ish, or w/e, but thanks for the suggestion. I thought it over. I don't really think my story is amazing, but I'm glad you do!  
**Other people who are basically saying the same thing-** thanks for liking my story; I sorta think it's crappy, but okay… lol!  
**Amanda: **I REVIEWED so I get to kiss Erik :starts severe makeout session with Erik after kicking the dead diva aside: teehee!_

_

* * *

_Chapter 3: Confrontations

"I have to talk with her," Raoul said to himself. He needed to know the reason why Christine was so upset. Sure, he had reached his own conclusion, but he needed to hear Christine say it. He turned around and strode through the garden to the front door of his house. Walking swiftly through it and up the stairs that were just inside, he reached Christine's room in a mere few seconds.

Knocking loudly, he said through the door, "Christine, I need to talk to you. Open the door or I'll break it down," He sighed impatiently, he kept up his knocking. Of course, he had no intention of breaking down the door. He'd ask Jean to do it.

He heard a soft click and stopped knocking, turning the door knob. He swung the door open and saw his fiancée for the first time in days. She was sitting on her bed, staring out the window.

Raoul quickly crossed the room and stood in front of Christine, blocking her view outside. "We need to talk." He said firmly, taking her arm and pulling her off the bed.

"Let go of me." Christine said calmly, moving away from Raoul. "Where do you find it best to talk?"

"In the study. Come on." Raoul stated, walking out of the room and across the hall, into the study. Christine followed him in and closed the door behind her. Sitting down in the maroon leather armchair facing Raoul's desk, she innocently asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Raoul stood behind his desk and slammed his hands down on it. Christine didn't as much as flinch. "What do I want to _talk_ about! I want to talk about what's _wrong_ with you!" he spat out angrily.

"I don't know what you mean. There is nothing wrong with me. I simply enjoy sitting in my room by myself, alone." she replied, sarcastically, but in that sweet little voice of hers.

Raoul snorted. "Yeah, right." He sat down in his chair. "I've been thinking…" Christine smirked and interrupted, "Really?"

Raoul narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, why did you lock yourself up like that? Why did you not want to leave that demon's hell?" he leaned forward, palms on his desk. "_Why did you give him our ring!_" he growled, seething.

"Are you really so narrow-minded that you can't figure it out?" Christine leaned back into the chair, then stood up. "Maybe you are, or maybe you just won't let your pitiful mind accept the fact _I don't love you_, that I would rather be with Erik, in his beautiful darkness than in this prison." she yelled, spreading her arms out to emphasize her last few words.

Raoul's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "You don't love him! You feel _pity_ for him!" he yelled back.

Christine threw her arms down to her sides, sighing, and turned away. "And you _still_ won't accept the truth."

Raoul growled and walked around the desk. He grabbed Christine's shoulder and whipped her around to face him. "You are still _my_ fiancée, Christine!" he hissed into her face.

"Not anymore!" she screamed at him and threw his hand off her shoulder. Turning around, she stormed out of the room.

Raoul's jaw dropped. 'Not anymore'? He slowly walked out of the room and across the hall, stopping in the doorway of Christine's room. He slumped against the doorframe when he saw Christine angrily hurling her belongings into a bag _(think of the large duffel bag_). She dropped the last of her dresses into it, closed it, and shrugged into her cloak.

Heaving the bag up, she gave Raoul one of her death-glares and jerked past him, pulling the bag behind her as she descended the stairs.

The maids and servants cast confused glances at her, but Christine ignored all of them except Herman. "Get a carriage ready, please." she told him, going out onto the front porch.

Herman nodded and hurried off to the stables as Christine set her bag down and leaned against a pillar of the porch.

"Christine, where are you going!" Raoul asked, running out onto the porch.

"You need to ask?" Christine replied coolly. She saw Herman headed their way in the driver's seat of the carriage. He stopped in front of the house and jumped down.

"Would you like me to take your bag, Madam?" he asked, climbing up the stone steps toward her.

"Yes please, Herman." Christine answered, heading towards the carriage. "Goodbye, Raoul!" she called in a sarcastically happy tone and disappeared into the carriage.

Raoul inched forward towards the carriage after Herman climbed in. Straining to hear where Christine was going, he faintly heard "train station". This puzzled him. The train station? He thought Christien would have gone straight to the Opera House.

* * *

_A/N: _

_Sandra: bwah haha small cliffie.. I TRIED SO HARD TO GET IT UP FAST 'MANDA!  
Amanda: thank you..  
Sandra: SORRY for the typos, I'm hurrying to get it up before Amanda has to go…  
Erik: lalala  
Sandra: Uhm, Erik? What's wrong, honey?  
Erik: lalala :eats another s'more:  
Amanda: Oh dear, I think he's getting high off s'mores…  
Sandra:sits in Steve's 'thinking chair' pose: You know…  
Amanda: yes?  
Sandra: This may prove to be a good time to take advantage of him.  
Both: OH GOODY :jump on and snog Erik:  
Sandra:looks up: Leave a review, or else… :takes out and swings Punjab menacingly:_


	4. Chapter 4

**I know, this is terribly short, and I am soo sorry. I've had it written up since after I posted the last chapter, and then I got a really bad case of writer's block, and I put the draft away, thinking something would come to me later.. but no such luck. Have fun reading..this.. puny little excuse for an update. Forgive me!

* * *

**Christine leaned against the seat in the carriage and sighed.

"Where to, Madame?" Herman asked her, not letting on that he was as perplexed about this as the Vicomte.

"The train station, please.." Christine answered softly. She closed her eyes as the carriage jerked forward.

* * *

Herald walked out of the house and stood by Raoul's side. "Where is she off to?" he asked, a hand on Raoul's shoulder. Raoul shook his head, then dropped his chin to his chest. "I don't know. She said something about a train station…" he replied quietly.

"The train station? I would have thought that she'd go straight to the opera house." Herald said, confused.

"Me too.." Raoul stomped his foot in frustration. "I can't believe this! What am I supposed to do now? I don't even know where she's going!" He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up** (moohaha)**.

"You could follow her, find out where she's going, Raoul.." Herald suggested, a little baffled that his friend had not thought of this before.

"That's a good idea.. of course! Could you get someone to get me a change of clothes and a horse?" Raoul said, getting excited over the thought. Herald nodded and proceeded into the house to issue the orders. He hadn't a clue how this was going to turn out.

* * *

**This isn't even a full page. I'm so ashamed of myself, I'm really sorry! For this, and for the not-so-frequent updates.. ((hides from reviewers))**

**Erik: It's okay, dear.. ((puts arm around Sandra's shoulders))  
Amanda: I'm disappointed in you, Sandra..  
Sandra: ((sniffle)) I'm so sorry! Use your review for this chapter as an opportunity to flame me, yell at me, do whatever..  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Gosh.. I have a new laptop! But I don't have Microsoft Word installed on it yet. This sucks. So yes, if you see a spelling mistake, or a grammar mistake, even though I'm doing my best, could you tell me? lol.. then I'll revise it when I have the time. :D. So yeah, sorry this took so long! I really am.. But everything was hectic this week and the one before; I had two tests, each 2 or 3 days long in French, a math test, a bunch of English quizzes, a stupid social studies project that we're still working on, and then with me getting my laptop, two choir concerts, one of which I was at for 2 hrs and 45 min.. plus all my homework, I had zero time for myself. Oh! I was also reading a really good book. All PotO phans should read it. It's got a sort of phantom plot line, it even says so in the author's note at the end! lol.. the book is called Redemption, by Annee Cartier.**

**Quickie review answers:**

**Emily singing reflection: Yeah.. I hate this. Everyone I know (that doesn't live in my town) gets off like 3 weeks earlier than me! SO annoying.. But it's 4 weeks now.. 3 weeks, really, since the last week we're not doing anything at all.. :)**

**Bumble0Bee: Really? I don't think it's too good.. lol, but thanks!**

**ChristineErik: It's an update! Yay! But only if you take Andrew from under the ice cream. That's just... ew. Lol.. but leave Erik! Yumm.. that's what got me.. :P**

**New chapter time!

* * *

**

Christine sat back in the carriage. She thought of Erik, her angel. How could she have just left him like that, without a fight? she wondered again. She looked back on all those memories of him and the Opera Populaire, giving her a happy moment for a small amount of time. Those times before he had shown himself to her.. those were the best times of her life. She would never trade anything for those years, with her Angel of Music. Then, her thoughts turned to Raoul, as she reached the point in her memories where M. Lefevre had retired.. and Raoul had become the patron of the Opera House. Did she love him? No..'You would have stayed with him if you did." Christine reassured herself. Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes, she set to work on blocking out all sad thoughts of her past.

In the front of the carriage, Herman was also thinking. He could probably get Christine to tell him where she was planning on going, and then, what if she did tell him? He would tell Raoul, of course. It was easy to tell that his master, and friend, was in love with the girl, but it was easier to tell that she didn't want much to do with him. Nobody in the household dared to tell Raoul that, the fear of being fired much too strong. They couldn't risk the chance. He snuck a peak through the opening behind him at Christine. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared as if she were sleeping, but he knew she wasn't. Her thinking was probably more jumbled than his. Sighing, he turned back to the road, focusing on getting to the Gare de Paris.

* * *

"Raoul? Your things are ready.. they're in the saddle bag of your horse.." Herald told Raoul, who was standing outside, arms crossed, eyes blank. "..Raoul?" he waved a hand in front of his face.

Raoul shook his head and looked at Herald. "Thank you.. Herald.. Do you think I should be worried for her?" he questioned.

"I don't think so, Raoul. She can take care of herself." Herald answered, regarding Raoul with a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm not sure.. not sure if I should follow her.. I mean, she'll eventually come back to Paris, right?"

"I don't know.. But I think it best that you do not wait to find out, but go see where she is going, first. That way.. you'll always know where she is.." Herald said carefully.

"You're right.. Thank you.." Raoul said, smiling a little towards his friend. Seeing the horse being brought up to the two of them, he stepped forward and said, "I'll send a letter as soon as I figure out where she's going.."

"Alright.." Herald answered, moving towards the house. "Have a good trip.." he said, as Raoul rode off. "I jsut wonder if this is the right thing to do.." he added to himself, before shaking his head and going into the home.

* * *

Christine opened her eyes again and looked out the window at the passing estates. They were all big.. but she knew none would compare to Raoul's in size. She shuddered, thinking about Raoul. She realized now more than ever that she had made the mistake of allowing Erik to push her away like that. She needed to get back to him. 'But now is not yet the time.' she told herself. For now, she'd find refuge elsewhere.

Christine laid her head back, her eyes still focused out the window. She passed by this one home, it reminded her of her childhood home by the sea. She felt a tear escape her eyes and down her cheek, but did nothing about it. Leaning her head against the window, she sighed softly. Feeling tired, she slowly wiped the tear away from where it had travelled to her chin, then called to Herman. "Excuse me, Herman."

Herman slowed the horses down a little before answering, "Yes, Mademoiselle Daae?" he asked cautiously. "I'm going to rest.. a little. Please awaken me when we arrive at the station.." she answered, closing her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am." Herman answered. 'She must be feeling horrible right now...' he thought to himself as the horses gained speed again.

Christine leaned back against the seat again and fell asleep slowly, banishing all thoughts of a certain Vicomte. All she needed now was peace, and a more detailed plan of what she was to do.

Now Herman didn't know what to think. Christine was such a nice girl and was so innocent. How dare he help the Vicomte! He sighed, shaking his head, and continued driving the carriage through the village. He didn't pay much attention to anything except not to run anything over.

A little ways down the road, behind the carriage, a figure rode closer and closer. He went unnoticed by anyone in the carriage; Christine was asleep, and Herman was too preoccupied with his thoughts. A few minutes later, the horse and rider were just behind the de Chagny carriage, and Herman's attention was finally caught. Hearing a separate set of hoofbeats, he leaned over the side of the carriage, and was surprised to see a familiar figure riding up next to him.

"Good afternoon, Herman.." Raoul said as quietly as was possible, for Herman to hear, but for Christine not to hear, yet over the noise of the horses.

* * *

**AN: Well, there you go! A real chapter. :) Hope you enjoyed it. As you can see, Raoul is nice towards his 'workers', because he's friends with them. And they are caring, and kind, and stuff.. like Herman towards Christine? Yeah..**

**Also, I'd like to thank Haley soooo much for helping me out with this. It would have never been up if it wasn't for her.. Thanks a bunch, Hales.. I love you for this. :)**

**AIM: Ange de Fantome - ChristineErik -- I lost your screen name. I Xed out the window before I saved your screen name, so yea.. IM me again sometime... lol :D**

**Yahoo: EriksMusic**

**Review plz! **

**-Sandra-**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I was on vacation and just got back Sunday, and I fished out my Stories Binder this morning, and my brother forced me to come downstairs so I took my laptop and am writing a ..._dun dun dunnnnn_... new chapter! woo! I'm so proud of myself! ..lol.. **

**For everyone this update probably took a really really long time, but that's not really too true, because chapter 5 used to be an A/N, but I changed it to a chapter, and it didn't come up as an update and it annoyed me. So if you haven't, go back to chapter 5 and read it... it's not a note anymore! ..lol.. okay, three points:**

**- Raoul's servant people are his friends.. that's how freakish he is... he uses his friends.. he's wierd. deal with it. bu-ut.. Christine doesn't know about this. ... just to let y'all know ...**

**- There's Erik action in this chapter! woot!**

**- We can't reply to reviews! It's really annoying.. There's a petition going around the e-mails, to let us reply to reviews again. If you haven't gotten it, leave your e-mail in your review and I'll send the e-mail to you so you can sign. **

**..On with the story! charrrrrge**

_A little ways down the road, behind the carriage, a figure rode closer and closer. He went unnoticed by anyone in the carriage; Christine was asleep, and Herman was too preoccupied with his thoughts. A few minutes later, the horse and rider were just behind the de Chagny carriage, and Herman's attention was finally caught. Hearing a separate set of hoofbeats, he leaned over the side of the carriage, and was surprised to see a familiar figure riding up next to him._

_"Good afternoon, Herman.." Raoul said as quietly as was possible, for Herman to hear, but for Christine not to hear, yet over the noise of the horses._

------

Herman recognized the voice immediately, and quickly glanced behind him at the still-sleeping Christine in the back seat. Making sure she wasn't going to overhear anything, he looked back to Raoul. "What are you doing!" he hissed.

"I need to know where Christine is going." he stated.

Herman shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea." This earned him a frustrated and annoyed look and he hurriedly explained. "Look at it from my point of view; she left for a reason, Raoul. She doesn't _want _you knowing where she's going and following her."

Another glare. "I don't need this right now. I love her, even if she claims she doesn't love me. I feel the need to protect her. She's my life.." he trailed off.

"That moved some point inside me, if a very small point, but I still don't think this is a good idea, Raoul. If she finds out what you're up to, she'll shut you out of her entire life, not just her room."

Raoul glowered at Herman, anger flaring. "I find the idea of firing you very appealing at the moment."

Herman chuckled, but abruptly stopped, twisting around to see Christine stirring out of her sleep.

"Damn it!" Raoul growled. "Where is she going!"

Herman hesitated but quickly and quietly answered, "The train station." Raoul nodded and trotted ahead of the carriage and to the train station.

"Herman?" Christine said, running a hand through her hair drowsily. "Who were you talking to?"

Herman sucked in a breath and replied, "I was giving directions.." nodding to Raoul, who was a safe distance away and unrecognizable.

"Oh.. Well.. That was nice of you.." Christine said, then turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.

**xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx- **(finally) to Erik's point of view **-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx**

Erik looked down at the half-finished picture in his hands. It was his last one, he had sworn. He just needed something… anything… about her. It tormented him to no end, but he had to do it.

Erik had decided he couldn't end his life. Not yet. It was too soon? What if she came back? The chances were slim, but he couldn't stop himself from hoping. It had only been, after all, two weeks. He would wait another year.. and a half. That was final, now, in his mind. If a year and a half passed, and she didn't come back, he would try to end his life then and there. And if that didn't work.. he'd go find Nadir and see what he thought of everything. Knowing his friend, he'd most likely take Erik into his hands and have him travel with him, to take his mind off of everything. "In time, it will be just a mere memory." he would say. Erik just hoped he didn't have to endure a year and a half of waiting before (if) she came back.

Erik looked up from the charcoal Christine to look across the lake. It looked dreary now that he didn't have reason to cross it. No managers to fool with, no ballet rats to scare, no Christine to tutor, no performances to watch. This was what his life had become; and empty nothingness, nothing to look forward to, no one to look forward to seeing.

A tear escaped his eye and made its way across the bumpy path down his deformed cheek. Since that night, when the little Giry girl had taken his mask, and after he had come back when it was safe, he hadn't had the heart to look into the drawer of the dresser in his room, where he kept his spare masks. It would just remind him of what he was cursed with. With the mirrors smashed, there was nothing he could look into, whether accidentally or not, to be reminded of his face. The only way was to touch his face, and he was used to not doing that; it would just attract attention to it, so he wasn't bothered by that.

He watched as the tear slipped off the end of his chin and onto the paper, where a perfectly drawn head and neck of Christine was sketched. The droplet of salty water landed just under the eye, successfully making it look like the Christine in the picture was crying along with Erik.

He looked sadly down at it, and placed it beside him on the organ bench where he was sitting, his back to his organ.

**A/N: I was high on sugar and stuff so please do not mind if this chapter was a little out of my ordinary writing.. .hehe..**

**Plus it's short.. but I think you're going to have to get used to short chapters for this story. At least until I start re-writing the roleplay. Then they'll be longer, since I can stop them wherever I want to. ;-)**

**And another note: I don't picture the mob with axes and weapons with the strength to actually mess the organ up into shards of wood. Swords don't have that kind of strength… In my eyes, the organ is still intact, but has cuts and stuff 'engraved' into it from people trying to destroy it with their daggers. Yes, somebody could have thrown a torch at it and set it on fire… but BASICALLY; I need the organ for later use and it is still in working condition! No questions about it, okay? ..lol.. you can make comments about it.. but it's staying this way.**

**review! and leave your e-mail! lahve ya bbye!**

**imsandra ndurnot - aim**


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